By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor
Despite turning the ball over three times, Baylor football held Houston without an offensive touchdown for the second consecutive week. The Bears extended their winning streak to five, tying their longest streak since 2021 with a 20-10 win Saturday night at TDECU Stadium in Houston.
Coming into the game, the Bears (7-4, 5-3 Big 12) had allowed more than 28 points in six consecutive games. Head coach Dave Aranda’s defense held Houston (4-7, 3-5) to just 239 yards and grabbed three interceptions, Baylor’s most in a single game since Nov. 5, 2022, against Oklahoma.
“I’m excited about the win,” Aranda said. “We did not play our best, but I’m proud of the fight. I think if this was a game early in the year, we would find a way to not come out with the win, so to battle through adversity, … this could be a really good wakeup call. We will use it that way.”
Less than a minute into the game, redshirt junior quarterback Sawyer Robertson under threw a pass intended for senior wide receiver Hal Presley. Houston junior cornerback Jeremiah Wilson jumped the route and intercepted the short pass, handing the Cougars the ball on the Baylor 30-yard line. During the Bears’ four-game winning streak heading into the game, Robertson only threw one interception.
Houston was able to plunge the ball inside the 5-yard line, but junior safety Devyn Bobby made sure the Cougars came up empty. Under pressure, Cougars sophomore quarterback Zeon Chriss lobbed a ball to the end zone that Bobby picked off to keep the game scoreless.
Robertson was ready to make up for the error as he fed the ball to redshirt freshman running back Bryson Washington and completed 5-of-7 passes during a 14-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. Washington, who cleared 100 rushing yards for the third consecutive game with 28 carries for 113 yards, took seven carries on the drive and pushed the Bears to Houston’s 5-yard line.
Robertson faked a handoff to the tailback and quickly threw a pass to redshirt junior Michael Trigg. The 6-foot-4 tight end high-pointed the ball over a defender and tossed it to the ground after giving the Bears a 7-0 lead with 6:11 in the first quarter.
“I’m really proud of him. His whole thing is improvement,” Aranda said of Trigg. “In the day of just all the money and all the stuff that’s going around, to still see the maturity of a dude and someone that off the field and on the field, all the things are kind of aligning. It’s pretty cool.”
Trigg finished with four receptions and a career-high 96 receiving yards. In addition to his touchdown grab, Trigg also found himself a highlight reel-worthy one-handed snag across the middle of the field in the second quarter that resulted in a gain of 42 yards.
Baylor’s defense built off of Bobby’s interception by forcing back-to-back three-and-outs. Houston came away with only 57 yards in the first half and Chriss completed just 2-of-6 passes.
“We knew it was going to be a dogfight, and we got what we expected,” Washington said. “I just feel like we kept pounding the rock. We kept running downhill.”
However, the defense’s stand was negated by Wilson’s second interception of the day. On a first-and-10 play, Robertson under threw Washington on the far sideline, and Wilson jumped the pass again after hovering 5 yards behind the receiver in zone coverage. After hauling it in, he tiptoed the sideline and racked back to the end zone for an uncontested 41-yard pick-6 to even the game, 7-7.
Robertson wasted no time making up for the miscue as the Bears marched down the field during an 11-play, 79-yard drive. With 9:55 in the second quarter, Robertson lofted a pass to wide receiver Ashtyn Hawkins. The fifth-year reeled in an over-the-shoulder pass in stride and scored a 23-yard touchdown, giving Baylor a 14-7 lead.
The green and gold had one last shot to score before halftime as Trigg reeled in a 42-yard pass, and sophomore running back Dawson Pendergrass punched the ball inside the 5-yard line with 33 seconds left in the quarter. On third-and-2 from the 2-yard line, Washington lined up in wildcat formation, but redshirt sophomore center Coleton Price launched the snap over his head, resulting in a loss of 25 yards.
Redshirt junior kicker Isaiah Hankins sent a 45-yard field goal through the uprights and the Bears took a 17-7 lead into the break.
“There’s a lot of positives,” Aranda said on the Baylor Sports Media Network postgame. “I thought this was a game that, probably early in the season, we’d find a way to lose, and we continued to fight and believe that we were going to win.”
In the first drive out of the half, Houston was able to muster its first third-down conversion of the game. The Cougars marched down to the Baylor 29-yard line but missed a 47-yard field goal try. The Houston defense forced a three-and-out after sacking Robertson twice and wouldn’t allow the Bears to touch the ball for the rest of the quarter.
The Cougars outgained the green and gold by 146 yards (135 for Houston and -11 for Baylor) and held onto the ball for nearly 13 minutes during the quarter. The Bears didn’t let up, however, and forced the second consecutive 13-play Cougar drive to end in a field goal attempt. This time, senior Houston kicker Jack Martin propelled a 24-yard chip shot through the uprights, cutting the deficit to 17-10.
“We had to really step up and take care of business tonight,” redshirt sophomore Keaton Thomas said. The linebacker led the team with 10 tackles which put him above the century mark on the season. “We’re all super excited. Guys are starting to catch picks. Everything we’ve been doing in practice, we’ve started doing in the game now. Nothing’s a better feeling than that.”
In the fourth quarter, Baylor’s defense reigned supreme again. Redshirt senior cornerback Lorando “Snaxx” Johnson intercepted a tipped pass with 6:22 on the clock, paving the way for Hankins to drill a 50-yard field goal two minutes later and extend Baylor’s lead to two possessions, 20-10.
“Our defense definitely took over this game. I’m happy to see that. When the offense is down, we’ve got a defense that can pick us up,” redshirt junior offensive lineman Omar Aigbedion said.
Redshirt senior linebacker Josh White stripped the return man during the kickoff, and the Bears retained possession at the Houston 43-yard line. Robertson and the offense looked to drain the clock as they handed the ball to Washington five times before the two-minute warning. The only pass play during the span was a 6-yard completion to redshirt junior wide receiver Josh Cameron on fourth-and-4 to keep the drive alive.
The Bears were faced with a fourth-and-4 situation once more, and Robertson fired his third interception of the day across the middle of the field. The redshirt junior completed 15-of-23 passes for 204 yards with two touchdowns.
Just four plays later, the defense had his back, as redshirt junior safety Devin Lemear glided towards a game-sealing interception to keep Baylor’s Big 12 Championship hopes alive.
“When we were 2-4, everybody had faith that we would have a winning season,” Aigbedion said. “That’s what we were able to do. As far as the Big 12 Championship goes, losing four games, it’s hard to win a championship but we are taking it one game at a time.”
The Bears will wrap up the regular season against Kansas at 11 a.m. Saturday at McLane Stadium. The Jayhawks (5-6, 4-4 Big 12) beat No. 16 Colorado, 37-21, earlier in the day and will play for bowl eligibility against offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes’ old squad.
